At the beginning of 2022, François-Philippe Champagne, the federal minister of innovation, science and industry, seemed confident that a Canadian-owned lithium mine in Argentina had little to do with Canada’s national security or its automotive industry.
By the fall, he and the federal government seemed to have reconsidered.
On Oct. 28, Champagne announced changes to the Investment Canada Act (ICA) that will put foreign state-owned companies looking to invest in Canada’s critical-mineral sector through the wringer. He followed that up Nov. 2 by ordering a trio of China-based companies to divest their interests in three Canadian lithium miners developing projects in Argentina, Chile and Canada, following national security reviews.